Busted! Oprah tweets her love for Microsoft’s tablet—from an iPad

She named the tablet-laptop hybrid one of her favorite things this year. On Monday morning, the Queen of Talk even tweeted that she bought 12 of them as Christmas gifts—but she sent the tweet from her iPad.

The person who captured the screenshot got it from Tweetbot, a third-party iPhone application that shows the device or platform from which someone issues a tweet. Twitter.com, as well as many other popular apps, no longer reveal that information.

That’s too bad for Oprah.

On The Next Web, Alex Wilhelm called the tweet an amateur move by Oprah, and others have suggested the tweet shows she’s being a tad disingenuous about her list of favorite things. (TechCrunch called her a “sellout.”)

There are at least three explanations for the tweet, though:

1. There’s no Twitter app for the Surface. Unlike the iPad, the Surface doesn’t have a Twitter app, which means Oprah could still love the Microsoft device—she said it feels like a Mercedes-Benz—but tweeted from an iPad because she wanted the ease of an app. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Why not send that tweet from Twitter.com? Good question.

2. Oprah’s social media person uses an iPad. Maybe she gave someone on her staff the order to send the Surface tweet, but hasn’t gotten around to buying Surfaces for the staff.

3. She truly prefers the iPad. And if that’s the case, this is a serious breach of trust, considering Oprah’s loyal fan base. Although it’s doubtful a 140-character mishap discussed mostly by tech blogger could do much harm to the Oprah empire.